of him as the villain didn’t make his rejection sting any less though. It surprised me how I’d grown used to his flirting and the little compliments. Not to mention the heated looks.
What I needed was some girl-time to ground myself in my new reality. “Take me to Darcy’s.”
He cocked a brow. “What’s the magic word?”
I huffed out a breath. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not.” He folded his arms across his chest. “But neither am I your personal taxi service. I would appreciate a modicum of courtesy.”
And here I thought we’d moved beyond his need to wheedle and cajole. Did he want me to propose another bargain? Screw it, I didn’t need to put up with his moods. “You know what? I bet there’s a car around here somewhere. I can drive myself.”
“Suit yourself.” He vanished between heartbeats.
It was only after he was gone that I realized he hadn’t once called me lamb.
There wasn’t a car in the garage attached to the house. There were three. My jaw dropped as I took in the sleek silver convertible, the shiny red SUV, and the mammoth black pick-up truck. Never mind that Pete had driven off in something. Four vehicles.
Since it was still mountain winter and the truck put out the wrong vibe for my sexy boots, I selected the SUV. An illicit thrill went through me when I discovered the leather seats were heated. The thing still held that new car smell which thankfully didn’t come from an air freshener tree.
A garage door opener hung from the sun visor and I depressed the button, revealing the snowy expanse of nature and majestic mountain views. I backed out of the garage carefully. The driveway was long and windy but there was a spot just outside the garage which I used to turn and face forward.
I’d never been to this precise hilltop before and took a moment to get my bearings. The house, a stone and glass edifice, sat on a cleared hilltop. I’d been so overwhelmed by the situation that I hadn’t stopped to take in the setting. Large pines, birches, and oaks cocooned the steep downhill paved and freshly plowed driveway. Piles of snow were carefully pushed off the sides. No other houses were visible from the lot. In the distance, the blue ridge mountains surrounded me on all sides, royal blue jewels in a magnificent crown.
I steered the SUV downward, going slow in case of black ice. It wouldn’t do to wreck my comfortably heated SUV on my first foray out. The drive stretched on for more than a mile when I spotted the lone mailbox at the end. Good thing I hardly ever got mail. Trekking down there to retrieve it in the winter sounded like a special hell.
Beyond the mailbox the trees cleared and widened into a road I didn’t recognize. Where the hell was my house situated, on the moon? Good thing I’d found my phone. After opening the GPS, I punched in my father’s law office address. It was in the center of town and from there, I could easily get to Darcy’s or anywhere else.
Address unknown, the thing flashed back.
What? That couldn’t be right. Maybe I’d fat-fingered the numbers. I tried it again.
Address unknown.
Anxiety bubbled up in me. I took a deep breath and tried Darcy’s address, sighing a little in relief when the directions flashed up on the screen. Though the distance shocked me. Thirty-seven miles? That couldn’t be right. It would be over an hour round trip to visit my mom or Darcy or Grammy B every day.
Again, I pictured the stunning view and all the empty rooms inside the estate. I hadn’t done much exploring yet, though it was clear that if Pete and I did have kids, they were grown up and living elsewhere. No toys or gaming consoles, no messy rooms. The house was neat as a pin. I bet Darcy overnighted sometimes, like the place was a spa. Mom and Grammy probably came to stay with me some nights too, maybe with cookies or a lasagna, giving me and Pete a break from the quinoa and egg-white lifestyle.
Okay, so maybe living in the middle of freaking nowhere had its plusses.
I turned toward Darcy’s, enjoying the luxury of being behind the wheel of a car that I was sure would start when I got back into it and didn’t fart clouds of smoke every half a mile like Earl did.
On my way into town, I passed Firefly Lane.